Duty First, Love Never
by claraserlyn
Summary: Born into the royal household of Naboo, Eesla Merquise was a Force-sensitive child who was recruited into the Jedi Temple at the age of 5. Follow Eesla on her journey as a Jedi as she fights for peace and faces her inner struggles in life. P.S: it's not canon so the timeline won't exactly match. Hope you enjoy being with Eesla!
1. Prologue

The doors burst open as a soldiers came running in.

"What's the commotion?" The Queen stood up, anxiety decorating her beautiful face.

The captain of the guard approached the throne and knelt down "Begging your pardon, Your Highness. There is an unknown spacecraft entering the atmosphere. It's flying at a speed way too fast and looks like it will crash into the city square.

"Has anyone managed to communicate with the spacecraft?"

"Negative, Your Highness. We're afraid it might be because all communications has been cut off."

If the Queen was panicking, she was hiding it very well. "Evacuate the people off the city square, Captain!"

"But, Your Highness, there isn't enough time! The spacecraft is entering our atmosphere as we speak!"

Without skipping a heartbeat, the Queen continued. "The palace then, it's closer and the fortified walls here can offer safety from the debris."

"With all due respect, Your Highness, your safety-"

"THAT'S AN ORDER!" The Queen barked.

With a salute, the captain left the throne room to dispatched his men.

When the spacecraft crashed, the palace shook tremendously as though in an earthquake. People screamed in terror. Husbands protected their wives and mothers hugged their children tight.

When the dust settled, the Queen approached the crash site accompanied by the royal guards. It resembled a transport shuttle, one used to transport passengers or freight between planets.

"Search for any survivors." She said grimly.

When the first victims were brought out of the wreck, they were all dead. More and more bodies were being moved out. The Queen soon felt disheartened at the sight, losing hope of any possible survivors.

"Someone bring the stretcher! This one here's alive!" A rescuer shouted, waving from within the spacecraft.

Hearing this, the Queen pushed her way out of the protection of her guards towards the direction of the medics. Knelting down beside the stretcher, she saw that the woman appeared to be unconscious but still breathing. She was covered in dust from the debris and apart from a few scrap wounds, it didn't seem to have any physical wounds.

When the Queen started pulling back to make way for the medics, the woman grabbed her wrist, as though suddenly alarmed. Her eyes, intense and sharp, were fixed on the Queen's.

With a croak, she whispered.

"Save her. Please"

Hii! Sorry for suddenly adding in a Prologue just like this but I thought it would make things interesting *wink*

Hope you guys stay on for the ride!

Would appreciate all the reviews and suggestions! :) Love you all!


	2. A New Home

Chapter 1: A New Home

Lady Eesla was being drilled by her tutor in Twi'leki when her maid came in, saying the Queen requested her presence in the throne room. Breathing a sigh of relief, she left her desk and made her way to the throne room.

At a tender age of 5, Eesla was already drilled with various Native languages (for your future Ambassadorial duties, her tutor always said). She wondered when the Queen would ever her allow her to leave the planet and actually practice her mastery of them.

Stopping just outside the throne room, she gently patted down her dress and stepped inside.

"Eesla! Come over here!"

Eesla looked up and saw the Queen beckoning to her. Standing before the Queen were two strangers dressed in simple robes. One a man, the other a boy. She had never seen them in the palace before. The boy seemed to have felt her staring and turned to look at her. Embarassed to have been caught staring, Eesla hurried her footsteps to the Queen's side.

"This is Lady Eesla I suppose?" The man spoke first.

The Queen turned to him and nodded. Caressing Eesla's head, she introduced the man as Master Qui-Gon Jinn. The boy however, she did not mention.

Eesla curtseied politely. Her mind was racing. She couldn't think why the Queen had summoned her and was very anxious to find out.

Master Qui-Gon stepped forward.

"Eesla?" He spoke in a calm, gentle manner, like how someone would calm a terrified creature.

"Do you know who we are? We are Jedi. We serve the Jedi Order and the Galactic Senate."

Jedi. Eesla was familiar with the term. She had read about them, these people who called themselves peacekeepers of the galaxy. Yet it didn't explain how it had to do with her.

At this moment, the Queen clutched her shoulders protectively.

"That's enough, Master Jedi. I have not yet agreed to this proposal of yours. No matter what, Eesla is still a valuable asset. By no means will I just give her up."

Valuable asset. The words tasted bitter on Eesla's tongue. It was at such times she felt no more than a pawn in the Queens' hands. A simple object to do the Queens' bidding.

"Your Highness, with all due respect, it is in Eesla's best interest if she trains as a Jedi. She's highly sensitive to the Force and it's best she comes with us before someone else Comes. For. Her." Master Qui-Gon firmly emphasised the last three words, causing the Queen to frown. She glanced at Eesla with concern.

Meanwhile, Eesla was lost in her thoughts. Jedi? Jedi? She felt surreal. For as long as she could remember, the Queen had reminded her that she would grow up to be a fine Senator and one day Queen. She knew of no other future and dreamt no other. But... would the Queen let her go? At this thought, she snapped back to reality.

The Queen looked deep in thought and was obviously struggling to reach a decision. Eesla's heart started to sink. Just as she thought her hopes was dashed, the Queen spoke.

"Master Jedi... if I let Eesla go... would you promise me you will care for her personally? It may sound too much, but Eesla is... very important to me." The Queen spoke wistfully with a pensive look.

Master Qui-Gon smiled and bowed.

"If it would make her Majesty feel better, I would care for Eesla like my own".

The Queen smiled gratefully and turned towards Eesla.

"Then Lady Eesla will leave with you at sunrise. You are welcomed to stay at the palace. I hereby declare this meeting dismissed."

Everyone in the room bowed as the Queen stood up to leave. The room slowly cleared out till only Eesla, Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Won was left.

Master Qui-Gon approached Eesla and knelt down to her height level.

"Eesla, I'm sure you're feeling overwhelmed now... but there's nothing to be afraid of. I'll be with you every step of the way. For now, why don't you go say your goodbyes and take some rest? We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Eesla nodded slowly and ran off towards her room.

As she left, the boy turned to Master Qui-Gon with a concerned look.

"Master, do you think she'll be alright?"

Master Qui-Gon smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Trust in the Force, my young Obi-Wan. Eesla will be just fine."


	3. Life Before This

Sitting in her room, Eesla stared at her empty bag. What do you pack for living in a Jedi Temple? Do they have gala dinners at the Jedi Temple?

Her train of thought was broken when she heard someone knocked rapidly on her door. Whoever it was must be impatient, she mused.

"I'm coming! Just a moment!" She scrambled out of bed to unlock the door. When she did so, a girl with brown flowing hair burst into the room, nearly knocking her over.

"Eesla! Is it true you're leaving?!" The girl exclaimed. Her face was streaked with tears, and her breath in pants from running.

"Well, news certainly travels fast here." Eesla replied, shutting the door.

"Eesla, so it's true?"

Eesla nodded in earnest.

Padmé Amidala didn't know how to respond. How do you respond to a someone who was leaving your life in a heartbeat? How do you respond when for as long as you could remember it had been only you and her and no one else? Padmé wanted to be happy for her, but at the same time she felt torn apart, angry and bitter.

Discomforted by her friend's silence, she held Padmé's hands in hers tightly, hoping to convey some level of comfort. She fidgeted in her seat, afraid of her friend's reaction. Of all things, she did not want a falling out with her childhood friend.

"Please be happy of me Padmé. I never thought I could possibly have a life beyond the palace walls. And now I can. It's not goodbye forever. We can still always be in touch..."

Padmé sighed inwardly. Who was she to deny her best friend's dreams even if it meant separation?

Cracking a small smile, Padmé dramatically rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Who will I go with for those boring diplomatic dinners then?"

"I'm sure Eida or Alluria would be more than happy to accompany you."

"Pfft! Are you being real? I'll be bored to death!" said Padmé with an exasperated look.

The look on Padmé's face was just too much for Eesla to handle. She burst into laughter.

"Oh I'm glad you find this funny!" said Padmé with a huff.

Eesla dried the tears of laughter from her eyes. Of all the things in the palace, she knew she would miss Padmé most of all. Her personality that brighten the dark corners of the palace, her ability to take things easy even in the most difficult of situations. Even though Eesla has heard so many adults telling her that she was gifted, that she would excel and bring greatness to her people one day; deep down she has always felt Padmé was better at handling the best and worst parts of the palace.

Overwhelmed by the nostalgia and memories, Eesla stood up subconsciously and hugged Padmé tight. "I'll miss you Pads, you know I will."

The mention of her nickname brought tears to Padmé's eyes and both girls cried quietly for awhile.

Padmé stayed as long as she could and helped to pack Eesla's bag. She promised to be at the hangar at sunrise to see Eesla off.

"You know I won't miss seeing my best friend for one last time."

"I won't let it be the last, Pads. You can count on it."

Eesla couldn't sleep. To say she wasn't the least bit nervous was a lie. Master Qui-Gon had said she was a Force-sensitive, yet she had never felt anything out of the ordinary.

Memories flooded Eesla's mind as she reminisced life in the palace. Her favourite memories were playdates with Padmé, of rainy days in the library reading stories of adventures in space and other planets.

(Flashback)

"Eesla! Wait for me!" Padmé says as she tries to catch up with her.

Eesla laughs gaily as she runs through the gardens. She finally stopped in front of the central pond. Padmé stops beside her, out of breath.

"You're impossible." Padmé wheezes.

"And you're out of shape." Eesla teases and pokes Padmé in her side.

Eesla falls back on the grass, her expression full of exhilaration. She loved free days like this when she could just run free like there was nothing to worry about.

Padmé stood over her, smiling.

"You know Aayla will kill you for ruining that dress right?"

"Come on Pads, enjoy a little. It feels great here."

Eesla sits up and looks at Padmé, who raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. Eesla rolled her eyes in response and pulled Padmé towards the ground.

"Eesla!" Padmé squealed as she hit the grass.

"Go on. Just lie on the grass."

Padmé looks exasperated but made herself comfortable on the grass. She lay there with her eyes closed as the breeze blew over her.

"See? I told you so." chids Eesla.

"You're still impossible." Padmé retorts in response.

She also remembered the Queen's words to her. "You'll be a great asset to your people. You will bring greatness." Eesla wanted more than anything to make her people proud one day. But she wanted a life better than this. A life beyond the palace walls. Being a Jedi could change that. Everything she read about the Jedi from her books told her that they were peacekeepers. If she could be a Jedi, wouldn't she be a better protector of a her people?


	4. Author's Note

Hi there! I wanted to say thanks to those who read, follow and like this story! It really means a lot to me . Like majorly!

Some of you might think I don't update often on this site, and that's true! It's because I spend most of my time on my Wattpad account. So if you want more frequent updates, you may visit my Wattpad page as I update at least once per week!

No worries as I will still update here but it's less frequent and I probably will do batch updates instead. Lack of time (work, family, etc) made me have to choose my time wisely.

Please visit this link and follow my Instagram and Twitter to keep yourselves updated!

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